Vegetarian Pozole de Frijol - Quick and Hearty Soup with Hominy and Pinto Beans - Recipe

Vegetarian Pozole de Frijol
Pozole (also spelled posole) is a soup or stew made all over Mexico, dating back to pre-Columbian times. Vegetarian pozole is almost a non-sequitur, because the original is heavy on the pig, but this version is delicious and filling so I don't think you will miss the meat. It makes a terrific one pot meal on a cold day.

There are more variations of pozole than you can count, but as long as it has hominy and some kind of red chili in it, you are in the ballpark. Actually that is for pozole rojo. (There is another version, pozole verde that involves ground pumpkin seeds; I've never tried it but it sounds amazing).

For this particular batch I added pinto beans, which makes it pozole de frijol. I like to use tomatoes and a lot of lime juice to make a somewhat sour broth.

Much of the fun comes with the accompaniments, which you can put out on a big platter and let everyone choose for themselves. Popular options include: avocado slices, cilantro, lime wedges, tortilla chips, shredded cabbage or lettuce, onions and radishes. If you want to make a true feast, fry up some homemade tostadas and make a batch of guacamole.

The recipe below calls for canned hominy and beans for simplicity. Made this way, it can even be a weeknight supper. But if you want a more leisurely and even better soup, you can cook them both from scratch. Hominy corn is available dried, in which case you would soak it overnight and boil it for several hours, very much like with dried beans. Or if you are really motivated, you could try to find maiz para pozol and soak it yourself in lye water and then remove the end of each kernel. Sounds like fun!

Vegetarian Pozole Rojo de Frijol
Serves at least 4 as a one-pot meal
Vegetarian and gluten-free; vegan if you don't offer cheese as a condiment

• 1 or 2 (or more, if you are a chili head) dried chilis de Arbol, ancho, or guajillo chilis to suit your preference
  
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• optional: 6 cups mild vegetable broth
• 1/2 15 oz. can diced tomatoes - those "fire roasted" ones would be good if you have them
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 15 oz. cans hominy, drained and rinsed
• salt
• juice of 2 limes
• garnishes: see the list in the discussion above

1. Soak the chilis in a bit of boiling water for 20 minutes or so, then puree in a mini food processor.
2. In a large soup pot, saute the onion and garlic in the oil for 2 minutes over medium heat.
3. Add the tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of salt, the oregano, and 6 cups of vegetable broth or water and bring to a simmer.
4. Add the pinto beans and hominy and bring back to a simmer. Allow to simmer for ten minutes.
5. Add the pureed chilis, lime juice, stir, then add salt and more lime juice or more of the tomatoes as needed to produce a piquant broth. You might like to add the chilis a little at a time and taste to make sure you are't exceeding your heat preference. You can always serve the remainder of the chili sauce on the side.
6. Serve it forth, with a good selection of garnishes.

Polenta With Sauteed Chard and Gorgonzola

As fall closes in on winter, the cold weather greens and warm, filling grains figure more in our cooking. A lazy weekend day meant I had time to make polenta the slow way instead of using the quick cooking (but not instant) de La Estancia brand. I followed Marcella Hazan's "no-stir" method, which really isn't no-stir, but definitely low maintenance, you just need to have an hour. Both the quick-cooking and slow-and-low methods make delicious polenta, but they are very different. The de la Estancia is bright yellow and tastes more of fresh corn, with a slightly rougher texture. Hazan's technique leads to polenta which is very mellow, creamy, soft and soothing.

Whenever I make polenta, I almost always double the batch and chill the rest on a oiled baking sheet. The next day I cut it into squares and cook it in a skillet with a bit of oil. The fried pieces with soft insides are delicious with a simple tomato sauce. The recipe below is for four, but will work fine to double or triple as long as you use a big enough pot.

The polenta is definitely the main event in a dish like this, and we don't want to overwhelm it. Strong flavors are fine but they should be in moderate amounts. I'd say the amount of blue cheese in the picture above is too much by half. I added just a few slivers of garlic and a pinch of chili flakes to the chard, and a drizzle of good balsamic on the side to round out the dish.

Polenta With Sauteed Chard and Gorgonzola
Serves 4
Vegetarian and gluten-free; vegan if you omit the cheese

• 7 cups water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 2/3 cup polenta (medium to coarse grained yellow cornmeal)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• optional: 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
  
• 1 large bunch Swiss chard (any color is fine), leaves pulled from stems, washed, and chopped coarsely
  
• 6 tablespoons gorgonzola dolce or other blue cheese
• Maldon or other finishing salt
• black pepper
  
• optional: balsamico tradizionale

1. Bring water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil. Whisk the polenta in a thin stream into the water, stir for 2 minutes being sure to reach the bottom of the pot, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover. Every ten minutes, uncover the pot, stir for whole 1 minute, and re-cover until 40 minutes have elapsed. Then uncover and cook five more minutes, and stir in the grated parmesan. Turn off the heat.
2. Heat a large skillet over a medium-high flame. Add the garlic and optional chili flakes. Fry for 10 seconds, then add the chard and 1 teaspoon of salt. Saute for a minute, add a little water, cover, and steam until thoroughly tender, about 7 minutes. Remove top and allow water to evaporate.
3. To serve, ladle 1/4 of the polenta into a bowl. Top with 1/4 of the chard and 1.5 tablespoons of gorgonzola. Finish with salt, pepper and optionally a drizzle of balsamico.

Five-Minute Indian-style Cabbage - A Tasty and Easy Side Dish

Indian-style cabbage you can make in 5 minutes

This cabbage side dish is great to have in your arsenal, because it comes together in 5 minutes flat, and makes a big and flavorful addition to an Indian meal. I break out some variation of it when I'm making a curry, rice and raita and feel the need for one more dish to round out the meal.

Everything in the cabbage family (brassica) goes great with mustard, so mustard seeds are the primary flavoring. If you happen to have mustard oil, you can use that instead of the vegetable oil and reduce the seeds by half. Be sure and have all of chopping done and your spices measured in advance, because once the mustard seeds hit the oil, you have to move quickly.

Five-Minute Indian-style Cabbage
Serves 4 as a side dish
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free

• 1/2 head green cabbage, cored and sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or ghee (clarified butter), or mustard oil, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• optional: garlic, ginger, unsweetened shredded coconut, fresh chilis or dried chili flakes, garam masala
• optional garnish: cilantro, lemon juice
  

1. Heat a large skillet or wok over a medium-high flame. Add the oil, wait 10 seconds, and immediately add the mustard seeds.
2. As soon as they start to pop, add the rest of the spices and any optional ingredients and stir-fry for 10 more seconds. Move quickly here so you infuse the flavor in the oil but don't burn them.
3. Add the cabbage and salt, and stir-fry until crisp-tender or tender, your preference. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Garnish with cilantro and/or lemon juice.